A study by Ohio State University shows that while more than 600,000 farm families in the US went bankrupt, others managed to increase their profits by an average of 300%. What had the seconds done? Take the step towards what is known as regenerative agriculture. It is the same one that became famous in the Netflix documentary Kiss the Soil for saving a farmer from ruin who had run out of money to invest in new crops.
“Regenerative agriculture seeks not to depend on external inputs, such as diesel, insecticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Inputs that are increasingly expensive”, says Marc Gràcia, researcher at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (Creaf) and collaborator of the Planeses Regenerative Agriculture project. Instead of these inputs, this type of agricultural practice uses techniques such as promoting biodiversity to combat pests or diseases.
Another key advantage in times of drought like the current ones "is the greater resistance and tolerance of regenerative agriculture soils in periods of low rainfall, as well as erosion by wind and extreme rains," explains Ralph Rosenbaum, researcher for the Sustainability program in Biosystems from IRTA. He serves as an example the case of the Australian winery Cargo Road Wines. While the country was experiencing the worst drought in 100 years, this company not only managed to grow its crops, but also increased production by 11.24%.
Gràcia also highlights that these are "systems with high levels of production because the soils are more fertile, being richer in organic matter".
Beyond all these advantages, the great key to climate agriculture is its ability to store carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas responsible for global warming. In fact, regenerative agriculture is also called the agriculture of climate change.
Agricultural soils contain 31% of the soil carbon stocks in the European Union, according to a recent study by Creaf, the UB, the UAB, the CTFC and the IRTA. The soils of the south of the continent and those of the Mediterranean are the poorest in carbon, but at the same time the ones with the greatest storage capacity. The authors of the research estimate that if the current agricultural management were changed to one focused on carbon sequestration and fertility regeneration, there would be a sequestration potential of 67.5 million tons of CO2equivalent for the farmland of the European Union. At present, Catalan agricultural soils contain as much CO2 as that emitted by Catalonia in a year.
This change in the production model implies “an investment in knowledge, resources and time”, warns Gràcia. The expert points out that in "five years we can already begin to see very evident results". But five years can be a long time for a farmer. Added to the investment in knowledge, time and money is the fact that production is initially reduced. In this sense, Gràcia affirms that the "farmer cannot assume all these costs" and that "they are going to need the help of the administrations".
Another added problem is the lack of experience in regenerative agriculture in Catalonia. "Research is needed in order to start implementing these techniques in a standardized way and on a larger scale," says Francesc Domingo, an IRTA researcher. This is precisely the objective pursued by the European Siram project (see additional text).
Investment markets are no strangers to this trend. AXA, Unilever and Tikehau Capital have announced the creation of an investment fund specializing in projects and companies that support the transition to regenerative agriculture. “Large amounts of capital are needed to change our production models, which in turn creates very important investment opportunities. This private equity fund will seek to enable and expand regenerative agriculture practices throughout the value chain,” explains Pierre Abadie, climate director at fund manager Tikehau Capital.
